


he don’t need you for shit but your dick and your veins and your guts and your (body and blood)

by bratlas



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Demon possession, M/M, Murder, demon!johnny, i’m serious don’t read this if youre faint of heart, theres also like too much humor in this for a horrorfic, warning for excessive blood and gore and violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-09
Updated: 2018-05-09
Packaged: 2019-05-04 12:49:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14593386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bratlas/pseuds/bratlas
Summary: Something’s been wrong with Johnny ever since he was dared to go into that abandoned house.





	he don’t need you for shit but your dick and your veins and your guts and your (body and blood)

**Author's Note:**

> hello (: 
> 
> uhhh if u didnt read the tags, this story is full of excessive blood and a fair emount of violence so please dont read if yr gonna be triggered by that !! i dont want any of you to be upset 
> 
> now that that is out of the way, if youre still here please enjoy this it’s one of my first attempts at a horrorfic so ,,,, its probably not that good. anyways. 
> 
>  
> 
> gift to ari for a) being one of my favorite authors, b) tolerating me when i’m being annoying in his dms, and c) inspiring ne to write something Spooky 
> 
>  
> 
> this author’s note is done! i hope u guys enjoy this, if u do pls drop a comment or yell at me on twt @honeyboyjeno ! 
> 
> (title taken from the song Body & Blood by clipping.)

“You guys are kidding, right?” Johnny aims his phone’s flashlight at the old house, laughing lowly. Clapping Johnny on the shoulder, Jaehyun grins. “You were dared, buddy.”

  
“This isn’t a scary movie, nothing’s gonna jump out at me in there,” Johnny scoffs, “besides, an empty house doesn’t scare me just because it’s dark out.”

  
“You can stall and lie to us and also yourself all you want, Johnathan. You were still dared. Get going. Ten minutes.” Jaehyun grins, and Johnny flips him off, loping up the front walkway of the house. It’s overgrown with weeds, roots he nearly trips on before reaching the rotting front steps. Johnny tests his weight to be sure they won’t collapse beneath him before heading up and trying the front door. Johnny had half-expected it to be locked, but it opens easily. He glances over his shoulder; Jaehyun, Taeyong, and Lucas wave at him from the yard.

  
Johnny rolls his eyes and steps inside the house, allowing the door to swing shut behind him. Johnny leans against it, taking his phone out of his pocket. He plans to just sit here and maybe bother Ten until time’s up, and he can dare Jaehyun to do something immensely humiliating as retaliation for this stupid shit.

  
Johnny grumbles under his breath upon the realization that he only has one bar, and nothing on his phone will load. Figures. Standing up straight, Johnny wanders a little further into the house, wondering if he’ll get a better signal somewhere else.

  
Despite it almost being summer, the night still relatively warm, goosebumps rise on Johnny’s skin when he steps into the living room. It’s definitely colder in here than it was by the door, but he thinks nothing of it, checking his phone again. Sure enough, the signal is better in here. Johnny sighs and opens his messages, shoots Ten a text.

  
**11:50 p.m.**

  
**johnny:** my friends are so lame

 **johnny:** jaehyun dared me to go in that abandoned house on Euclid hes such an idio

 **ten:** did the ghost get you before you finished the word

 **johnny:** shut up oh my god

 

“It’s midnight. He should be coming out now.” Jaehyun checks the time on his phone, then looks at the house’s front door. Similarly, Taeyong and Lucas follow his gaze. A couple of minutes pass, and there’s nothing.

  
“Yo! Johnny!” Jaehyun shouts. “You can come out now!”

  
Still, silence. Jaehyun starts towards the house when there’s a thud from the other side of the door. He pauses, eyes widening. It’s quiet again, but only for a moment. Then, the door rattles on its hinges as if someone is beating on the other side with their fists, the handle jiggling frantically. Only a second or two after that comes the screaming.

  
It’s muffled, coming from inside the house, but it’s unmistakably Johnny, high with terror. Jaehyun rushes towards the door, but just as quickly as the commotion had started, it’s completely still and silent again. The door swings open slowly.

  
“Did I scare you?” Johnny comes loping out, a wolfish grin on his face. Jaehyun punches the elder in the arm when Johnny meets him at the bottom of the steps, and Johnny snickers. “I totally did. Nothing happened in there, dude, lame-ass dare.”

  
“Dickhead,” Jaehyun grumbles, and the boys return home, the house forgotten.

 

 

 

 

“How was your adventure in the big scary haunted house?” Ten grins at Johnny as the elder sits in the desk beside him. There are dark circles under Johnny’s eyes, his complexion dull, but he smiles all the same. “Terrifying. Were you happy with the spooky dick pic you demanded?”

  
“Very. I saved it.” Ten takes a notebook out of his bag, and Johnny follows suit, glancing towards the whiteboard. The teacher’s already put up notes to be copied down.

  
“Freak.” Johnny runs one hand over his face. “God. Don’t kiss me today, I think I’m coming down with something and I don’t want you to get whatever it is. I feel like shit.”

  
“I’ll kiss you if I want to. You should go home.” Ten lowers his voice as the bell rings and the last few straggler students walk in, followed by their teacher. Johnny shakes his head, lazily scrawling the words on the board into his notebook. Ten shrugs as if to say, _suit yourself_ , and does the same.

  
Most of the class passes uneventfully. Johnny falls asleep with his chin in his palm, pen still loosely gripped in his other hand poised to write. Ten takes a picture of him, because it’s cute.

  
Johnny wakes up with fifteen minutes of class left. He awakens abruptly, eyes widening as he claps a hand over his mouth and rushes out of the room, white-faced. Ten frowns, and the teacher eyes him questioningly.

  
“I’ll, um, go...check on him,” Ten mumbles, getting up and jogging out of the room after Johnny. He hears voices from the bathroom, heads in that direction.

  
In the boy’s bathroom, an underclassman Ten recognizes as Kim Jungwoo is kneeling beside an unconscious Johnny, eyes wide.

  
“H-he ran in here and threw up all th-this black stuff,” Jungwoo stammers, pointing with a shaking hand to a puddle a few feet away, “and just fainted.”

  
Ten stares in disgust and confusion at the tar-black liquid and then Johnny. He drops to his knees beside the elder, shakes him gently. “Johnny? What the fuck, Johnny, wake up!”

  
“Sh-should I go get a teacher?” Jungwoo asks, halfway to his feet.

  
“No! Don’t, they’ll call his parents and if they tell them he puked and fainted i school his folks will think he’s popping pills again..just, fuck, okay, Johnny, wake up!” Ten gently pats Johnny’s cheek a couple of times, brushing his hair off of his face. Bringing his hand back to the elder’s forehead just to be sure, Ten gasps quietly. “Jesus, he’s burning up.”

  
Johnny’s eyes snap open at that moment, startling Ten. “Fucking–Johnny, are you okay?”

  
“I think I need to go home,” responds Johnny faintly, sitting up. Ten is quick to steady him, “Careful. I’ll take you, alright?”

  
“You’re the best,” Johnny mumbles. Ten stands up, looking to Jungwoo. “Will you help? Please?”

  
Jungwoo looks from Ten, to Johnny, hesitant, but finally nods. Ten smiles gratefully, and they help the larger boy to his feet. Johnny places an arm around either boy’s shoulders, legs unsteady.

  
“We can sneak out through that door below the gym, it’s always empty around there during this period,” Ten tells Jungwoo, and they start on their way out.

 

 

 

 

On the car ride home, Johnny is silent, staring out the passenger side window. He’s sweating from the fever, skin shining and hair damp at the roots. Johnny looks even worse than he had in the morning, the rings around his eyes practically black, his skin ashen.

  
“Babe, do you want to see a doctor? What was that stuff you threw up?” Ten asks, glancing over at Johnny. The elder cuts lidded eyes towards him, and although Johnny’s expression is earnest, something in his eyes seems off. Ten realizes what it is a moment later, as he’s pulling into Johnny’s driveway.

  
“Look at me?” Ten kills the engine, turns to face Johnny. The elder does as he’s told, and sure enough, his pupils are dilated wide enough that his irises are mostly black, a ring of light brown hardly visible around them. Ten’s warning to Jungwoo earlier resurfaces in his mind.

  
“Johnny? Are you on something?”

  
“What?” Johnny scoffs, “are you kidding? I feel like shit, Ten, I’m fucking sick. Don’t start.”

  
“Look at your eyes, then.” Ten reaches over to open the sun visor so Johnny can see himself in the little mirror there.

  
“I don’t know what to tell you, do you want me to take a fucking piss test?” Johnny laughs dryly. “Whatever, I’ll see you later,” he mumbles, getting out of Ten’s car and grabbing his bag from the backseat. Ten sighs, watching Johnny walk inside his house before leaving.

 

**7:36 p.m.**

  
**ten:** im sorry about earlier

 **ten:** i didnt mean to like assume you were popping pills and shit again but i was worried

 **johnny:** it’s fine I’m sorry I snapped at you

 **johnny** : I got inside and realized I really did look like a crackhead so youre justified

 **ten:** ): im still sorry

 **ten:** are you still sick

 **johnny:** kinda 

 **johnny:** I’m just gonna wait this one out like an animal that goes and hides to die don’t worry about me (~:

 **ten:** sure let me know if you need anything okay

 **johnny:** my hero  <333333 send nudes .

 **ten:** fuck you

 **ten:** (4 images attached)

 **johnny:** spank bank material thank yuo

 

Johnny isn’t at school the next day. Ten goes to the elder’s house afterwards to check on him, only to find the place oddly empty, front door wide open.

  
“Hello? Johnny? Mrs. Seo?” Ten walks inside slowly, frowning. It’s silent, but for the wind rustling the curtains through open windows.

  
“Mr. Seo?” Ten tries, peering up to the second floor from the bottom of the stairs. It’s too shadowy to see clearly, but Ten swears something moves.

  
“Alright, fuck that,” Ten mumbles, turning tail and loping out of Johnny’s house. He takes his phone out, dialing the elder’s number as he does so. Johnny answers on the fifth ring.

  
“Yuh.”

  
“Dude, where are you? I just went to your house to check up on you and like, the front door was open. No one was home but I saw something upstairs when I looked inside.” Ten rambles nervously, getting back into his car and locking the doors. Johnny’s laughter is dry.

  
“You trying to prank me? I’m home right now, I’m looking at you.”

  
Ten glances up through his windshield. Sure enough, Johnny’s grinning at Ten from his bedroom window. Ten frowns, “Why didn’t you answer when I called? Why was the door open?”

  
“Dude, you’re tweaking. Come inside, I’ll roll us a J or something.” With that, Johnny hangs up, leaving Ten sitting silent, confused. After a moment he finally gets back out of his car, takes slow, deliberate steps towards Johnny’s house. The elder opens the door before Ten reaches it, lean abdomen on display. Ten smirks at the low-hanging grey joggers Johnny wears, raising an eyebrow at the taller as he steps inside, previous creepy occurrences temporarily forgotten.

  
“Where are your parents?” Ten asks, pulling Johnny down for a kiss. The elder shuts his door and gently pushes Ten back against the cool wood, hands on either side of Ten’s waist caging the shorter boy in.

  
“This gala thing for my dad’s job. They’re gonna be out late,” murmurs Johnny, moving his lips down to Ten’s throat. “You sure you wanna be kissing me? I’m still kinda sick.”

  
“I’ll take my chances. You look hot right now,” answers Ten, tilting his head back. Johnny’s still feverish, lips especially hot against his skin. Ten pauses to look at the elder. “Unless you’re not in the mood. That’s fine.”

  
“Nah, I am.” Johnny kisses Ten with more fervor. “Hmm. Bedroom.”

  
“Right,” Ten breathes, allowing Johnny to lead him up the stairs to his bedroom. He eagerly rakes his eyes over Johnny’s broad back, appreciating the defined, wiry planes of muscle beneath smooth bronze skin. Then he notices something.

  
“Did you do something to your hair? There’s a black streak in the back.” Ten tilts his head to the side. Johnny hums. “What? No. My dumbass probably missed a spot while dying it.”

  
“I feel like I would’ve noticed that before.” Ten observes the little chunk of black, contrasting starkly with the rest of Johnny’s soft, coppery-colored hair. Johnny simply shrugs and pushes open his bedroom door, allowing Ten to walk inside first. The younger jumps onto Johnny’s bed, stretching out on his back.

  
Ten grins when Johnny crawls onto the bed, hovers over the younger and kisses him sweetly. “I missed you at school. First period is boring as fuck.”

  
“What? You mean you _don’t_ love Anatomy?” Johnny teases, kissing Ten again. The younger’s answer is lost as the kiss quickly deepens, Johnny’s tongue slipping into Ten’s mouth. Humming, Ten wraps his legs around Johnny’s waist, tugs the other’s hair.

  
“Wanna fuck?” Ten asks breathlessly, but the next second, he yelps as Johnny nips hard at his neck. “Ow, fucker.”

  
“Oops. You must really like me, wanting to fuck when I could possibly give you the fuckin’ plague or whatever this is.” Johnny smirks, his hands pushing Ten’s shirt up. The younger helps pull it over his head, grins up at Johnny. “I just really like your dick.”

  
Johnny hums, attaching hot lips to Ten’s nipples one at a time, licking and tugging gently with his teeth until Ten’s whining, back arching off of the mattress. He can feel Johnny’s erection against his own groin, and Ten rolls his hips up, sighing in relief. “You have condoms, right?”

  
“Yeah, duh,” is Johnny’s response.

 

 

“Are you always that rough?” Ten winces as he steps into his jeans, and Johnny grins at him from where he’s sitting at his desk in his briefs, rolling weed into a joint paper.

  
“I just missed your tight ass. Good hustle, sport,” Johnny teases, smacking Ten’s ass lightly. The younger snorts, “Shut the _fuck_ up.”

  
“I’m not complaining, though,” Ten leans against the desk, watching Johnny roll the joint shut and spark it. Johnny smirks up at him, blowing some smoke out through his nose. “Yeah, I know.”

  
“Shut up,” Ten mumbles, leaning down to pluck the joint from Johnny’s mouth and kiss him. He feels Johnny smirk, and when Ten pulls away, Johnny’s eyes are dark the way they’d been in the car the other day. It makes Ten’s skin crawl, so he looks away, puffs on the joint to distract himself.

  
“You’re all stiff. Something up?” Johnny places his hands on Ten’s hips, pulling the other into his lap. Ten peers back into Johnny’s face and finds that the elder’s eyes are back to normal, sweet honey brown gazing up at Ten in concern and leaving him wondering if he imagined the dark void in their place previously.

  
“Nah, I’m fine. I’m stiff ‘cause my ass is sore,” Ten drawls, and Johnny cackles, running his palms up and down Ten’s sides. “Sorry. Next time you get to top,” he tips his head back, puckering his lips. When Ten leans in to kiss Johnny, the elder leans away. “No, fuck off, I wanted the doobie.”

  
“Johnny!” Ten laughs aloud, hitting the elder’s chest. Johnny grins, “I’m kidding, gimme a kiss.”

  
They spend the rest of the afternoon lazing together, and when Ten leaves, Johnny walks him out to his car, only wearing sweats. He opens Ten’s door for him, grinning. “Tell my in-laws I said hey.”

  
“Shut up. Okay. You gonna be at school tomorrow?” Ten leans against the door, smiling up at Johnny. The elder squints against the sun, scrunches his nose cutely. “We’ll see. Drive safe, babe.”

  
“Yeah. Feel better, pray I don’t catch your STD,” Ten jokes, getting into his car. Johnny gives him the finger, but leans down to kiss Ten before shutting the door for him. Ten starts his car, watches the elder walk inside before pulling out of Johnny’s driveway.

 

 

 

 

It’s past midnight when Johnny hears his father’s car pull into the driveway, the doors shutting. His parents’ voices getting closer and closer, until the front door opens, shuts, locks, and they’re inside.

  
Trapped.

  
Johnny rolls out of bed, makes his way downstairs and to the kitchen, where they’re still up, talking quietly, probably sharing some wine. Johnny smirks to himself, pauses to listen; his mother’s voice is unmistakably slurring, probably from an excess of martinis or whatever beverages they had at the event previously.

  
“What are you doing up?” She asks, smiling with uncharacteristic brightness at Johnny when he enters the kitchen. Johnny shrugs, leans against the counter. “Couldn’t sleep. How was your thing?”

  
“Fun, fun..are you still-“ his mother hiccups, “-still feeling sick, sweetie?” She approaches to press the back of her hand to Johnny’s forehead, missing the way his eyes flash black. “You’re burning up.”

  
“I feel fine.” The edge to Johnny’s voice makes his mother pause, earns his father’s attention. Slowly, Johnny grins, though nothing about his smile is kind or welcoming.

 

  
Johnny looks far better than he has in days when he returns to school. His skin is healthy again, lips pink and hair shining. Ten notices that more of it is black, though, the patch he’d first seen in the back growing larger. A few streaks in the front frame Johnny’s face now as well.

  
“The fuck are you doing to it?” Jaehyun asks at lunch, ruffling Johnny’s hair. Johnny laughs, shakes his head. “Nothing. Maybe the dye’s reacting to something, hell if I know.”

  
“You look like a hot villain,” Ten jokes, leaning into Johnny’s side. The elder wraps an arm around him, chuckling. “Accurate.”

  
“You guys up for sneaking into Karma tonight?” Jaehyun asks. Taeyong and Lucas give varying levels of affirmation, while Johnny looks at Ten, raising an eyebrow. “I’ll probably go. You down?”

  
“Nah, I have to do this citations thing for English. You go, though. Have fun now that you’re feeling better.” Ten rolls his eyes at the prospect of homework, but smiles at Johnny all the same. Johnny returns it, leaning in to kiss Ten. “Alright, have fun doing your boring English thing.”

  
Ten just grins, kisses Johnny again.

 

 

 

 

Johnny gets into the club easily; despite being seventeen, his height and general appearance are that of someone far older, and they hardly give his fake ID a second glance. Johnny doesn’t bother to wait and see if the others get in as well, eyes scanning the crowd. Chewing on his lower lip, Johnny musses up his hair–streaked with even more black than before–and heads towards the bar.

  
Johnny doesn’t even have a chance to order his own drink before someone is sidling up beside him, offering to buy one for him. It’s a man probably only in his late twenties or early thirties, handsome in a sweet, soft sort of way.

  
“You wanna do shots?” Johnny teases, leaning in to say it in the guy’s ear under the guise of the club’s music being too loud. His lips brush the guy’s cheek as Johnny pulls away, leaving the idiot practically chasing after him.

  
“Or can you not keep up?” Johnny tilts his head playfully.

  
“Can I at least know your name before we’re slamming shots?”

  
“Tell me yours first.” Johnny smirks, drumming his fingers against the bar. His companion obliges, offering a smile. “Hansol.”

  
“Cute,” Johnny hums, eyeing Hansol up and down before swiping his tongue over his lower lip. “I’m Johnny. How about those shots?”

  
“If you insist..”

 

 

The backseat of Hansol’s car is cramped, especially so for two people as tall as him and Johnny, but they make it work. One hand braced against the seats behind Hansol, the other in Hansol’s hair, Johnny rides the elder.

  
“I’m close,” murmurs Johnny, attaching his lips to Hansol’s neck to suck hickeys onto the skin there. Humming, Hansol grips Johnny’s hips more tightly, hissing a little when Johnny bites at the marks he’s leaving. “Watch it, that hurts.”

  
“Don’t be a little bitch.” Johnny speeds the movements of his hips up, grips Hansol’s hair tighter to pull his head back. Johnny noses along the elder’s throat, brushes his lips over the delicate spot where Hansol’s jugular vein pulses beneath the skin. Then, Johnny bites into Hansol’s throat, tearing it wide open. He moans loudly, body shuddering with his orgasm as blood sprays all over the interior of the car. Hansol chokes, brings his hands to his neck in an attempt to stem the bleeding, but it’s futile. The last thing he sees is Johnny, eyes black and teeth bloody, grinning at him.

 

 

 

 

“Dude, we lost you at Karma the other night, where’d you go?” Lucas asks, looking up from the homework he’s hurrying to finish before the bell rings. Johnny doesn’t look up from his phone screen, answering in a disinterested mumble, “I went home with this guy.”

  
“Wait, but you and Ten–?”

  
“Ten and I are not responsible for things we do in clubs under the influence of vodka. Mutual agreement. Causes a lot less fighting, because we’re both sluts.” Johnny scrolls through the local news. A smirk grows on his face when he clicks a headline that stands out to him.

  
‘ _Unidentified man, 33, found murdered in vehicle outside popular club Karma’_

  
The bell rings. Johnny closes out of the app and shoves his phone into his pocket, looking to the front of the classroom with a bored expression. As the teacher is taking attendance, she pauses on Johnny, frowns at the sleepy-eyed senior.

  
“Mr. Seo, you know our policy about hoods in class. Take it off, please.”

  
Sucking his teeth, Johnny pulls his hood down, revealing a full head of glossy, midnight-black hair. “Happy? Also, I don’t know how many times I’ve told you, but that’s _not_ how you say my last name.”

  
Lucas snorts, quickly turning it into a cough and covering his mouth to hide his smile. Johnny’s expression sours when the teacher ignores him, carrying on with the lesson.

 

 

 

 

“Whatever the fuck happened to your hair, it looks hot.” Ten sits down beside Johnny at their usual table in the cafeteria. Johnny offers a sly grin, sipping a carton of chocolate milk stolen from Jaehyun.

  
“You’re not eating?” Ten asks, noting the absence of Johnny’s own lunch. The elder shakes his head, “Nah, I have like, zero appetite.”

  
“Think it’s from being sick?” Ten queries conversationally, opening up his own lunch. Johnny shrugs, leans his head on Ten’s shoulder. “Probably. Wanna come over tonight? My folks are going out again.”

  
“Yeah. Remember what you promised last time?” Ten smirks, and Johnny laughs lowly. “Fuck. I recall.”

  
“I’m gonna get you back,” Ten teases, pinching Johnny’s side. “I could hardly walk for like, two days after last time.”

  
As Johnny snickers quietly, Jaehyun pretends to retch onto his chicken nuggets.

 

 

 

 

**2:27 p.m.**

  
**ten:** can we reschedule that dick appointment i feel like shit covered shit

 **johnny:** did I get you sick after all lmao

 **johnny:** also yes feel better uwu

 **ten:** no its cos i had dairy

 **johnny:** thats my dumb lactose intolerant baby

 **ten:** you know what those filthy sluts ben and jerry do to me

 

Sighing, Johnny drops his phone on his desk, walks across the hall into his bathroom. Flicking on the light, he looks at his reflection and winces. Johnny’s skin is gray, lifeless, eyes sunken in and lips dry, cracked. Johnny groans lowly as his stomach cramps with hunger, makes eye contact with his reflection. Johnny’s eyes are black, even darker than his hair.

  
Shuffling back to his room, Johnny picks his phone up off of the desk, searches through his contacts for Lucas’s name. Examining his nails as the phone rings, Johnny chews on his lower lip thoughtfully.

  
“Hello?”

  
“Hey. Come chill, Ten’s not coming over after all and I’m bored.” Johnny drawls, wandering through his empty house. Lucas shuffles around on the other end. “Yeah, sure. I was hangin’ with Jungwoo, though, I’m bringing him along.”

  
“Cool. See you in a few, loser.” Johnny grins, hanging up.

 

 

“You look like shit. You sure you’re feeling better?” Lucas asks as Johnny lets him and Jungwoo inside. Johnny laughs, flips Lucas off. “When don’t I look like shit?”

  
“You look shittier than _usual_. Your folks have any liquor we can crack into?”

  
“There’s vodka in the freezer,” Johnny tells Lucas, who dashes towards the kitchen eagerly, leaving Jungwoo alone with the eldest of the three. Johnny smiles at Jungwoo, who shudders slightly.

  
“Are you scared?” Johnny takes a step closer. Jungwoo bites his lower lip, thinks about the little silver cross necklace he wears, resting against his chest beneath his shirt. As if reading Jungwoo’s mind, Johnny reaches up, gently hooking a finger into the delicate chain. He leans in, feverish lips brushing Jungwoo’s ear. “Good. God can’t save you.”

  
Jungwoo gasps quietly as Johnny yanks on the necklace, easily snapping the chain. It falls to the floor, and Jungwoo stares up at Johnny, terrified. The elder’s coal-black eyes bore into Jungwoo’s. Johnny flashes his teeth in a gut-twisting smile. “Maybe you’ll get lucky tonight.”

  
Jungwoo doesn’t have time to wonder what that means, because Johnny heads into the kitchen after Lucas, and he follows on wobbly legs. Lucas is pouring vodka into mugs from the cabinet, and Johnny snorts. “Classy. Drinking it straight?”

  
“Fuck no. What mixers do you have?” Lucas searches through the fridge, surfacing with a few cans of cola. “Fuck it, good enough.”

  
“Sometimes I think you’re a worse alcoholic than my mother,” Johnny mutters, taking one of the cans and pouring its contents into his cup all the same. Lucas just grins and does the same.

 

 

Jungwoo wakes up on Johnny’s couch. He’s alone in the dark, and it raises the hairs on the back of Jungwoo’s neck. Blinking as his eyes adjust to the night, Jungwoo sits up, peering around.

  
“Lucas?” Jungwoo whispers into the still air, starting to make out the room. There’s no warmth, no inherent hum of life that indicates Jungwoo is anything but utterly alone.

  
Reaching for his phone, Jungwoo turns it on, checks the time. Three thirty-three in the morning. Jungwoo whimpers, because oh, that’s never good.

  
There’s a noise from upstairs. Jungwoo’s eyes dart to the ceiling, and he gulps, slowly rising from the couch. Every fiber of him screams to leave, get as far away from here as possible, but Jungwoo refuses to leave Lucas behind with whatever in hell is hanging out inside Johnny Seo.

  
Jungwoo is silent as he climbs the stairs. He grips the railing with a shaking hand, expecting Johnny to lunge out at him any moment. No such thing happens; Jungwoo reaches the top of the stairs, and finds a strip of light coming from beneath the door at the end of the hall. Gritting his teeth, Jungwoo takes his first step towards the door, then his second. Before Jungwoo knows it, he’s walked all the way to the door, one shaking hand hovering over the knob.

  
Jungwoo hesitates, wondering if he really wants to face whatever could be on the other side of this door. Then, he lets out a deep sigh and opens it.

  
It’s a bathroom. At least, supposed to be; now, it’s painted floor-to-ceiling in blood, and from the bathtub full of tinted red water, Johnny sneers at Jungwoo, teeth just as bloody as everything else.

  
“Looking for Lucas?” Johnny purrs, stretching one long leg out of the water. Little pink droplets fall into the water from his skin. “You see, after you passed out from one fucking drink, I got that absolute idiot sloshed and dug right in. Playing with my food is more fun, usually, but I was starved.” Johnny doesn’t break eye contact with Jungwoo. Jungwoo couldn’t look away if he wanted to, his entire body rigid with terror.

  
“Can’t believe the fuckin’ mess I made, though,” Johnny sighs out. “But anyways. Jungwoo. It would get my dick hard to watch the life drain from your cute little face while you bleed out, yeah? I’m not gonna kill you, though. This vessel, beautiful and fucking stupid though he is, is still fighting in here like I don’t own his shit now. You, little Christian boy, _you_ know how to save Johnny Seo. See if you can before I kill him. Demon possession takes a toll on human bodies, see..”

  
Johnny’s eyes roll back for a second, and when he focuses them on Jungwoo again they’re a dull brown, tired and becoming more lifeless by the second. This time, when Johnny speaks, he’s hoarse, voice faint. “Please..please help me. Everything hurts so much,” he murmurs, sinking down lower into the water. Jungwoo’s eyes widen in horror at the stark contrast, but Johnny’s eyes darken again just as quickly.

  
“Without me keeping him alive, his heart rate gets slower and slower by the second. He’s malnourished, dehydrated, etcetera...you have a few days, tops.”

  
Jungwoo’s heart beats wildly against his ribs, and he nods. Johnny’s lips quirk upwards in a sinister little smile, and he waves. “Run along, now.”

 

 

 

 

“Okay, Jungwoo, you got me. Ha-ha, funny.” Ten smiles, shakes his head slightly. “I know Johnny can be standoffish sometimes, but possessed by a demon? Leave it at Sunday school.”

  
Jaw slack with shock, Jungwoo stares at Ten for a few seconds. “You don’t believe me.”

  
“Of course not,” Ten snorts. “You’re being ridiculous.”

  
“He killed Lucas,” Jungwoo’s voice shakes, “I saw the blood everywhere, Johnny was _soaking_ in it.”

  
Sighing, Ten looks over at Jungwoo, placing his chin in his palm. “Okay, fine. Let’s say you’re _not_ yanking my chain here. The fuck do we do about it? If you say an exorcism, I’ll laugh.”

  
“I-I don’t know. But it’s killing Johnny,” Jungwoo insists. “If whatever’s hanging out in his body decides to split he could die.”

  
“Sorry, babe, I’m just not convinced.” Ten leans back in his chair. Jungwoo frowns down at his tray of food.

  
“Why isn’t Lucas at school today? Johnny, too?” Jungwoo inquires. Ten pauses for a fraction of a second as he’s bringing a forkful of his food to his mouth.

  
“Explain why Johnny’s hair turned black the way it did,” Jungwoo insists, frowning. Ten is silent, so Jungwoo continues, “His eyes–they’re black now. Johnny’s eyes are brown, you know that better than anyone.”

  
That makes Ten pause, water bottle halfway to his mouth. Slowly, Ten sets the bottle back down on the table. “I’ve seen his eyes. I noticed from that day he fainted in the bathroom.”

  
“Then why don’t you believe me?” Jungwoo lowers his voice as a teacher passes by their table, and Ten does the same. “Because it sounds fucking crazy. Sorry that I’d rather not believe my boyfriend’s been possessed by some bloodthirsty demon.”

  
“You might want to start believing it, or you won’t have a boyfriend anymore..” Jungwoo frets.

 

 

 

 

“You heard from Lucas? He was supposed to be playing hooky with us today,” Jaehyun asks Johnny, getting out of the elder’s car and peering around. This park is one they frequent, its countless deep trails making for easy smoke spots.

  
“Nah.” Johnny grabs a blanket from the backseat of his car. “Yong didn’t wanna come?”

  
“He had some drama thing.” Jaehyun rolls his eyes as he and Johnny trek side by side down one of the trails leading into the woods. Johnny laughs through his nose, eyes scanning the trees surrounding them. Jaehyun rambles on about school or lacrosse or something equally disinteresting as they walk, and Johnny gives the occasional hum to indicate he’s still listening. Once they’re far enough into the woods, the trail branches off into three different paths.

  
They turn down the trail furthest to the right, and Jaehyun looks over at Johnny. “What’s been up with you, lately?”

  
“What do you mean?” Johnny laughs as they reach a clearing they’ve hung out in plenty of times before, laying out the blanket he’d been carrying and sitting down on it. Jaehyun follows suit.

  
“I mean you’ve been acting off since you were sick or whatever.” Jaehyun raises an eyebrow at Johnny, expression searching. Johnny snorts. “God, you and Ten love to assume shit. I’m clean, asshole. Definitely different, but clean.”

  
“Different how?” Jaehyun searches through his drawstring bag for an old glass pipe, a plastic baggie of weed. Johnny watches, only half-paying attention, before his onyx eyes flit towards Jaehyun’s face.

  
“Not anything major, really,” Johnny answers, watching Jaehyun pack the bowl.

  
“Well, elaborate?” Jaehyun sighs, looking away to dig through his bag for a lighter. When he faces Johnny again, the elder is inches from Jaehyun’s face, eyes boring into Jaehyun’s. It occurs to Jaehyun for the first time that the familiar, light brown of his friend’s eyes has gone.

  
“Uh, Johnny? You good?” Jaehyun laughs, inching backwards. Johnny gives a peculiar little smirk, tilts his head to the side. “You remember, just before I got sick, when we played Truth or Dare?”

  
“Not really. I was crossfaded. You’re being weird right now, dude.” Jaehyun goes to spark the pipe, but next thing he knows, he’s pinned to the ground.

  
“Shut the fuck up,” Johnny snarls, a lethal whisper in Jaehyun’s ear, before the younger even has a chance to cry out. A chill rolls down Jaehyun’s spine, and he stares up at Johnny with wide, fearful eyes.

  
Johnny’s lips drag against Jaehyun’s cheek and he murmurs, “You dared me to go into the house on Euclid. Ring a bell?”

  
Jaehyun nods once, gulping. He feels Johnny smile, which for some reason is even more terrifying. Johnny’s lips hover above Jaehyun’s when he breathes out, “You know why that house is empty?”

  
This time, Jaehyun shakes his head no, unable to help whimpering. Johnny’s grip on his wrists becomes crushing, and his breath is cool against Jaehyun’s face as he answers the question for Jaehyun. “Satanists lived there, until they summoned something they shouldn’t have, you following?”

  
Johnny’s grin makes Jaehyun want to scream, but he simply bites his tongue. Johnny straddles Jaehyun’s lower stomach, eyes never leaving the younger’s face. “Your friend practically invited me in when he closed that door behind himself. How do you feel, knowing you’re responsible for that?”

  
Johnny’s sneer widens when tears leak from Jaehyun’s eyes. “You’re the reason your friend is gonna be long gone soon enough,” he purrs, “I’m hungry, though, so at least he’ll be reunited with you, yeah?”

  
Jaehyun bites his lip to stifle a sob, as Johnny leans in to whisper in the younger’s ear, voice oddly faint, “Help. Its name is Andras.”

  
Jaehyun has no time to wonder what that means. The final thing he sees is brown eyes flashing to black.

 

 

“Renjun, help me babysit on Saturday or I’ll fucking kill you,” Donghyuck threatens his friend as they stroll through the woods, pretending to wring the other boy’s neck. Up ahead, Jaemin and Jeno’s playful banter suddenly goes silent.

  
“Guys?” Renjun calls, jogging to catch up. Donghyuck follows suit, but both boys hastily skid to a stop when they see what Jeno and Jaemin have come upon.

  
Looming over them, a black-haired boy, his clothes and mouth smeared in what is unmistakably blood. Jaemin’s knees wobble, and the boy notices, smirking almost imperceptibly. He leans down, blood dripping from his chin when he sneers at Jaemin.

  
“Consider yourselves lucky I just ate.”

 

 

 

 

“So how the fuck do you kill a demon, then?” Ten crosses his arms. Jungwoo stops pacing abruptly, eyes widening at the elder.

  
“You think I just _know_?” asks Jungwoo incredulously. Ten throws his hands up, “I dunno, I was hoping you had some ideas, church boy.”

  
“I’m a Christian, not a fucking priest,” Jungwoo shoots back. Ten snorts. “Fair enough. Google it, then.”

  
“Are you kidding?”

  
“No? There’s gotta be _something_ out there on the world wide web,” Ten drawls. Jungwoo sighs, “You’re not wrong. I just feel like you’re not taking this seriously.”

  
“I am, but if I don’t joke about it, I’ll lose my shit.” Ten stares levelly at Jungwoo, and then raises one hand to show the younger how it shakes. Jungwoo nods slowly, sighing.

  
“I guess we should start doing our research, then,” Jungwoo finally mumbles, opening up his laptop.

  
An hour later, Jungwoo sighs, hitting his head against his desk. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

  
“How’s it going?” Ten inquires dryly, sitting on Jungwoo’s bed doing research of his own on his phone.

  
“Terrible. All I’ve found is Christian websites telling me to accept Jesus into my heart and one thing that said we need a blade blessed by angels or some shit.” Jungwoo answers. “I’m not qualified to do an exorcism, either. Ugh. So far all we can do is trap him in a pentagram.”

  
“You should get on that. What about Holy water?” Ten asks. Lifting his head, Jungwoo slumps down in his seat. “It’ll slow the demon down, but that’s probably it.”

  
“Well, shit.”

  
“One other way to cast a demon out is to say its name, but we don’t know what that is. He’s sure as shit not about to tell us.” Jungwoo runs his hands through his hair.

  
“So basically, we’re just gonna go into this hoping for the best?” Ten wrings his hands together nervously. Taking a deep breath, Jungwoo nods. “Let’s hope Johnny’s strong enough to fight it off still.”

 

**7:06 p.m.**

**ten:** fucKER

 **ten:** my dad’s on a business trip house is mine

 **ten:** come over so i can suck ur dick

 **johnny:** that’s a bet let me shower first

 **ten:** damn without me?

 **johnny:** my eye twitched

 

“He’ll be here in like, twenty minutes tops.” Ten looks at Jungwoo, who’s just finished painting a pentagram with all the proper symbols on the hardwood floor beneath the large rug in the living room.

  
“Sweet. You know,” Jungwoo says, referring to his phone screen to do the last symbol, “it’s remarkable what you can find on the internet.”

  
“Agreed.” Ten tosses a plastic water bottle, labeled ‘HOLY WATER’ in sharpie, from hand to hand. “Look at us go. Talk about a DIY exorcism. Can we record it and make it a life hacks video?”

  
When Jungwoo gives Ten a peculiar look, the elder smiles apologetically. “Sorry. Joking as a coping mechanism. I’m terrified.”

  
“It’s okay, I just don’t know if I’m like, allowed to laugh or not–“

  
“Please do. I need validation,” Ten interrupts, the bottle crinkling under his grip. Jungwoo’s face softens, and he stands up, approaching Ten where the elder is leaning against the wall.

  
“Listen, we’re gonna do everything we can to get Johnny back,” Jungwoo reassures softly. Tears well up in Ten’s eyes and he looks away, nodding a few times. Jungwoo opens his arms, and Ten eventually falls into them, hugs Jungwoo tightly.

  
Jungwoo hides away in the kitchen when Johnny arrives. Ten answers the door, grins up at the dark-haired creature his boyfriend’s become. Ten doesn’t allow Johnny a chance to even say hello, kissing the taller’s feverish lips and pulling him inside, towards the living room.

  
“Where were you today?” Ten murmurs against Johnny’s mouth before glancing over his shoulder. Jungwoo’s moved the rug back into place, making the trap perfectly hidden. They’re almost to the middle of the living room when Johnny pauses, hands on Ten’s hips. Ten’s heart skips a beat. He knows. It’s all over.

  
But Johnny only sheds his flannel, tossing it onto the loveseat before pursuing Ten’s lips with his own again, walking forward once more. Ten knows when they cross the threshold of the trap, because a chilling growl comes from Johnny’s throat, and he shoves Ten backwards.

  
“Fuck,” Johnny half-laughs, “I’ll be fucked. You got me.”

  
“Give me my boyfriend back, bitchass demon.”

  
“I’m almost tempted just because in all the centuries I’ve been alive, no one has ever called me that.” Johnny chuckles. He spins around when Jungwoo enters the room, grin widening. “You! Good job, champ. Now where do you go from here?”

  
Johnny’s smile tells Jungwoo he knows exactly how clueless they are, but Jungwoo keeps his face smooth and expressionless. Tone bright, mischievous as if it’s a game they’re playing, Johnny probes, “You can’t have gotten _this_ far and not known the rest?”

  
From behind Johnny, Ten splashes the taller with some of the Holy water. Johnny hisses, glares at Ten with fury so hot the other recoils at first.

  
“Well, what are you gonna do now?” Johnny spits. Ten flicks more water at him, and while Johnny snarls, Ten swears he sees a flash of brown in his eyes.

  
“Johnny?” Ten pauses. “Johnny, I know you’re in there.”

  
Just like that, Johnny’s eyes are sweet amber all over again, and he’s wearing the goofy smile Ten knows, though it’s weary, wavering.

  
“Ten..” Johnny reaches for the younger, but stops himself. “D-don’t come closer, I can’t...I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Johnny’s voice cracks, face crumples, and tears spill down his cheeks. The next second, he’s wiping them away, eyes dark as night once more. Johnny cackles wickedly at the expression on Ten’s face, “Aw, poor babies. You know, he’s gonna be traumatized if he makes it out of this one alive, having to watch from the backseat while I murdered his parents and some guy and like, two of his friends. I’m talking, like, brutally.”

  
“Shut the fuck up!” Ten spits, splashing Johnny with more water than the last two times. Hissing, Johnny stumbles backwards, wiping it from his face. When he looks back up at Ten, his eyes are leaking a tar-black liquid not unlike what he’d thrown up that day at school.

  
Jungwoo’s phone buzzes persistently, and while Johnny is distracted with Ten, he checks it, frowning.

 

**7:50 p.m.**

  
**jung jaehyun:** J

 **jung jaehyun:** JUNGEO

 **jung jaehyun:** Jiohny

 **jung jaehyun:** Im goinnf hoapitl

 **jung jaehyun:** come

 

“Ten!” Jungwoo speaks up. “It’s Jaehyun.”

  
Johnny’s head snaps around at the same time as Ten’s does, eyes wide in alarm, and if Jungwoo isn’t mistaken, panic. “You fucking _what_ now?” Johnny seethes, while Ten lopes over to read the messages from Jaehyun.

  
“We have to go,” Jungwoo tells Ten. The elder glances back at Johnny. “What about him?”

  
“He can’t go anywhere. Show him, fucker,” Jungwoo directs the last part towards Johnny, who gives Jungwoo the finger before thrusting his hand out past the imaginary border of the painting on the floor. There’s a sizzling sound, and smoke rises from Johnny’s skin before he yanks his hand back as if burned.

  
“I’m like your demonic little puppy with a shock collar,” he quips, sitting down on the floor cross-legged. Johnny smirks up at Ten and Jungwoo. “Go on, I’m stuck here. Can’t guarantee I won’t eat the cat if she comes within arm’s length, though.”

  
“Eat my cat and I’ll kill you, Johnny Seo,”  
Ten hisses, stomping into his still-tied shoes while Jungwoo takes the time to at least pull his on and then tie the laces.

 

 

After lots of persuasion from both Jaehyun and Jungwoo alike, they get to visit him in his hospital room. A nurse is in there, tending to some of his wounds.

  
“How bad is it?” Ten asks softly. Jaehyun leans his head back against the stiff pillow. “Could be worse, considering I lived. Took a few of my fingers and a pretty big chunk out of my neck,” he points to the bandage on his neck. Ten and Jungwoo grimace, and Jaehyun laughs.

  
“Yeah, me too. There’s more, but it’s not important. I was lucky some kids found me, but anyways. Something’s wrong with Johnny. Obviously.”

  
Glancing towards the nurse, Ten sighs and crosses his arms. “We’re trying to figure out how to save him.”

  
“Johnny told me something before..yeah. I think it was the _real_ Johnny. He said its name was Andras. He was trying to stop it.” Jaehyun winces a little as the nurse stitches up a particularly deep gash in his arm. Eyes widening, Ten and Jungwoo look at each other. Ten grabs the younger’s arm, and Jungwoo turns back to Jaehyun. “This changes everything, Jaehyun, thank you so much.”

  
“Go do your thing, then. I’ll be here,” Jaehyun smiles weakly, waving with his good hand. Ten reaches out, takes it for a second. “We’re gonna get him back.”

 

 

 

 

“I hope you’re happy,” Ten announces when he walks back into his home, marching to the living room, praying to god or whoever is listening that this plan works. “Jaehyun’s fucking dead.”

  
Johnny’s seated cross-legged on the floor, but he gets to his feet when Ten and Jungwoo enter the living room. “Damn. I almost thought Johnny succeeded with whatever he was trying earlier. Shame, too; wasted an awful lot of energy, fighting for control like that.”

  
“You’re not looking too hot yourself,” Jungwoo points out, picking up the bottle of Holy water from where Ten had left it on the table beside the couch. Johnny’s skin is sallow, dark rings surrounding his eyes. Johnny chuckles dryly, smiling down at Jungwoo. “Getting hungry, genius. Didn’t have my fill earlier.”

  
“Sucks for you. Tell me, why’d you react like that when you heard Jaehyun’s name earlier?” Ten smirks. Johnny cuts his eyes towards the other boy, lip curling, but he stays silent.

  
“Answer.” Jungwoo flicks some of the water at Johnny. The elder snarls, flinching. “He could’ve fucked things up for me. Happy?”

  
“By knowing something like...your name?” Ten tilts his head to the side, tapping his chin thoughtfully. Finally, realization dawns on Johnny, rolls across his face like a black thundercloud.

  
“You fucking–“ Johnny growls, a sound that chills Ten to the bone, but he doesn’t let it show.

  
“Now who’s scared?” Ten taunts. Johnny smirks, and a second later, blood begins oozing from the walls, dripping from the ceiling, hot and thick. Jungwoo sputters in shock and disgust, while Ten simply backs up in horror. Searing heat against his back sends Ten hurrying forward again, and a glance over his shoulder shows flames eating up the hallway. He faces Johnny again, wiping blood off of his face. The elder is drenched with it by now, still staring the two down with a smug expression.

  
“You think I’m helpless just because I’m trapped?” Johnny grins.

  
“Fuck you!” Ten laughs in spite of the tears welling up in his eyes. “You’re only doing this because you know it’s over for you!”

  
“Why are you hesitating?” Johnny retaliates, sneering. “If you know the word, say it!”

  
When Ten and Jungwoo are silent, Johnny cackles, tipping his head back. “You won’t! You know it’ll kill him!”

  
Tears roll freely down Ten’s cheeks now, and he squeezes his eyes shut, grabbing for Jungwoo’s hand. The blood makes it slick, hard to grip, but Ten does his best, as they yell its name together, over the roar of growing flames behind them, over Johnny’s laughter. A high-pitched noise drowns everything out, and the room is filled with light.

 

 

 

 

Ten wakes up on his living room floor, blanketed in darkness. Jumping to his feet, nearly tripping over Jungwoo, he fumbles for the light switch, illuminating the room.

  
Ten gives a quiet, distressed moan. The room is clean, undisturbed. Yet, crumpled on the carpet is Johnny, body resting at an unnatural angle. Jungwoo’s just waking up as well, rubbing his eyes as he sits up. Ten hurries to Johnny’s side, letting out a quiet sob when he touches the elder’s arm and finds it stone cold.

  
“Johnny..” Ten breathes out, gently rolling Johnny onto his back. The elder’s eyes stare glassily up at the ceiling, the life long gone from them, leaving their once-lovely brown vacant and cold. Ten runs his fingers through Johnny’s hair, coppery-brown once more, and weeps quietly. Jungwoo slowly winds an arm around Ten’s shoulders as the elder cries.

  
“Why do his _eyes_ have to be open, why?” Ten sobs, in hysterics. Jungwoo simply pulls Ten closer, the elder’s head tucked into his chest so he can’t see Johnny’s body anymore.

 

 

 

 

Three months have passed since the great incident. The faded missing kid flyers with Lucas’s face on them don’t even catch Ten’s attention anymore, no matter where they may make themselves known. Numbing yourself to that kind of thing is how you survive, Ten’s learned.

  
On the way home, he passes Johnny’s old house. The ‘for sale’ sign is still there, stuck lopsidedly into the front yard. Ten grits his teeth and keeps driving. Johnny’s long since gone, he reminds himself.

  
“Am I?”

  
Despite the fact that Ten knows Johnny is buried in the cemetery halfway across town, has been decomposing six feet under for three months now, he knows that voice anywhere. In the rearview mirror, a grinning Johnny, chestnut hair streaked with black, meets Ten’s eyes.


End file.
